Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Zambia
Zambia: Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male was 6.8% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Zambia, 2000–2024
Source: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Analysis
In 2024, prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Zambia stood at 6.8%.
The figure is up 9.7% on the previous year and up 9.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Zambia peaked at 9.4% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 5.5%, in 2018.
That places Zambia 72nd out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Zambia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 8.8% | — |
| 2001 | 9.1% | +3.4% |
| 2002 | 9.3% | +2.2% |
| 2003 | 9.4% | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 9.4% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 9.3% | -1.1% |
| 2006 | 9.1% | -2.2% |
| 2007 | 8.8% | -3.3% |
| 2008 | 8.4% | -4.5% |
| 2009 | 8.0% | -4.8% |
| 2010 | 7.6% | -5.0% |
| 2011 | 7.2% | -5.3% |
| 2012 | 6.9% | -4.2% |
| 2013 | 6.5% | -5.8% |
| 2014 | 6.2% | -4.6% |
| 2015 | 5.9% | -4.8% |
| 2016 | 5.7% | -3.4% |
| 2017 | 5.6% | -1.8% |
| 2018 | 5.5% | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 5.5% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 5.5% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 5.6% | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 5.9% | +5.4% |
| 2023 | 6.2% | +5.1% |
| 2024 | 6.8% | +9.7% |
Zambia compared with similar countries
- Zambia's 6.8% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5.0%, 1.4× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Zambia's 6.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 4.5%, 1.5× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9.0% | 8.0% | 9.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.3% | 5.5% | 7.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.0% | 5.5% | 6.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More health data for Zambia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.09 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.7971 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 809.3 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 8,894 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.68 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0743 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.69 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Zambia?
- Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male in Zambia was 6.8% in 2024, according to Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
- What is the highest prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 9.4% in 2003.
- What is the lowest prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.5% in 2018.
- How does Zambia rank for prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male?
- Zambia ranks 72nd out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia data come from?
- The figures come from Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), published as part of Prevalence of overweight, weight for height, male (modeled estimate, % of children under 5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Prevalence of overweight, male, is the percentage of boys under age 5 whose weight for height is more than two standard deviations above the median for the international reference population of the corresponding age as established by the WHO's 2006 Child Growth Standards.